Tension device for looms



1,625,039 Aprll 19, 1927. J LUCAS I.

- TENSION DEVICE; FOR L'oous Original Filed May 16, 1925 Q 1:15 r-l \Q v WITNESS v INVENTOR y Jormr/mlvLz/afls L ITTURNEY- a Patented Apr. 19, 1927.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JONATHAN LUCAS, OF SAVANNAH, GEORGIA, ASSIGNOR T0 LUCAS-LAMBORN LOOM CORPORATION, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

TENSION DEVICE FOR LOOMS.

Original application filed May 16, 1925, Serial No. 30,656. Divided and this application filed October 31, 1925, Serial No. 65,935. Renewed September 17, 1926.

My invention relates to loom shuttles and more particularly to that class of shuttles which are positively carried through the warp shed in contradistinction to being shot therethrough and has for its object to provide an efficient tension device of simplified and improved construction, for the bobbin thread. The present application is a division of another application filed by me in the United States Patent ()flice on May 16, 1925, Serial No. 30,656.

In the accompanying drawings, which illustrate an example of the invention without defining its limits, Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the mechanism; Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the shuttle, on an enlarged scale, with parts in section; Fig. 3 is a cross-section on the line 33 of Fig. 1; and Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the tension device.

In the drawings, 10 represents a portion of the loom developed toconstitute a guiding means extending transversely of the loom and in such relation to the customary shed of warp threads as to permit the shuttle 11 to be passed therethrough in the manner to be more fully set forth hereinafter. A pair of carriers 12 of suitable form and dimensions are mounted slidably upon the guiding means 10 so as to be inversely reciprocable thereon toward and away from each other; the mechanism whereby the inverse reciprocation of the carriers 12 is accomplished may be of any suitable type, such as for instance is shown and described in my co-pending application Serial No. 711,581 in which case the carriers 12 may be connected with such mechanism by means of links 13. In the illustrated. example, the carriers 12 include members 14 which are mounted thereon upon uprights 15 so as to project toward each other and are preferably of tubular constructionin order to reduce the dead weight to a minimum and at the same time provide a maximum of strength in said members 14; the outer ends of the latter are preferably bevelled or curved as indicated at 16 and the outer surfaces of the members 14 are smooth and free from projections of any kind. In the illustrated example, the portions 16 comprise parts of the uprights 15 which form units with the members 14.

The shuttle mechanism further comprises supporting devices in the form of rods or fingers 17 arranged in cooperating pairs upon the respective carriers 12 and projecting in directions toward each other from the members 14, to which said. fingers 17 are secured in any conventional manner.

The shuttle 11 is provided with means arranged to cooperate with the aforesaid lingers 17 to establish a supporting relation alternately with each pair of fingers where by the shuttle 11 is carried alternately by each carrier 12 and transferred thereby through a portion of the warp shed; it will be understood that the reciprocating movements of the carriers are such that the shuttle 11 will be carried thereby, back and forth through the warp shed to lay the filler threads.

For the purpose of locking the shuttle 11 alternately upon each pair of fingers 14 and 14 or in other words upon the respective carriers 12, suitable latching devices may be provided as shown and described, for in stance, in the application of which this is a division.

As shown in the drawings, the novel carrier construction permits the shuttle 11 to be made of relatively large dimensions and capable of supporting a bobbin 18 of much greater size than is possible with existing shuttles; thus the present shuttle 11 is enabled to carry a maximum supply of filler thread a from which it follows that stoppage of the loom to permit replenishment of such supply occurs to a much lesser degree than in looms in which the warp thread carrying capacity is less. The filler thread (4 passes from the bobbin .18 through an aperture 19 formed in the one end of the shut tle 11 as shown in Fig. 2 and is maintained under a tension suificient to prevent uninten tional unwinding of the bobbin 18, by means of a tension device 20; the latter, as shown in the drawings, comprises a lever consisting of a continuous wire bent into U-shape and tapered to form an angle 21 in which the thread a is seated, the free ends of the wire being fixed pivotally in the shuttle in any convenient manner to permit the angle 21 to bear against the thread a as shown in Figs. 1 and 2 and to hold the thread by the gravital weight of the device 20. The tension device 20 operates entirely by gravity,

and without the assistance of any extraneous devices such as springs, to retard the travel of the thread a through the aperture 19. The angle 21 of the tension device automaticallymaintains it in proper operative relation to the thread and positivelyprevents displacement of the device With respect to the thread or of the thread rela-- tively to the device; the thread a; is thus maintained under an even, uniform tension at all times. In the operation of the loom the carriers are inversely reciprocated toward and away from each other the'shuttle 11 being carried in alternate sequence by each carrier 12 and transferred from one to the oth r when said carriers are at their innermost positions. in this way the tiller thread (tie properly laid. During these operations, which are carried on at high speed, the filler thread (A is automatically held at the'proper tension as it passes through the aperture 19, by the action of the tension device 20.

Various changes in the specific iorin Sher-in and described mav be made within the scope o'r'the claims Without departing from the spirit of my invent-ion.

I claim:

1. in a loom, a shuttle, a bobbin of thread carried thereby and a movable lever on said shuttle extending in the direction of the length of said bobbin and adapted to bear with its one end upon saidthread as it passes from the shuttle to place said thread under a tension,

2. "in a loom, a shuttle having a thread aperture, a bobbin of thread carried by said shuttle and a pivoted lever carried by'said shuttle and pivoted thereon at a point beyond one end of said bobbin and adapted to bear with its weight on the-thread at a point beyond the other endof said bobbin as said thread passes through said thread aperture.

3. In a loom, a slmttlaabobbin' of thread carried thereby and a U-shaped gravity actuated lever having its legs pivotally connected with said shuttle and'its closed end bearing. upon said thread as it passes t'ronrthe shuttle whereby said thread is automatically maintained under tensions 4:. In a loom, a shuttle, a bobbinlof thread ear red thereby and a U-shaped gravity-actuated lever having its legs pivotally connected with said shuttle and its closed end bearing,

upon said thread as it passes from'theshuttle whereby said thread is automatically maintai ed under tension, the closed end of said lever being taperedto form: an angle in which said thread is seated.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand.

JONATHAN- LUCAS." 

